Bill Kostroun/Associated PressThe Nets' Brook Lopez, rear, stops the Warriors' Staphen Curry during the second quarter.They desperately wanted to chalk this one up to mitigating circumstances, such as back-to-back fatigue, but it was more a case of offensive dysfunction against the worst defensive team in the NBA universe.

Still, you have to give the Nets this much: They are consistent. There was a six-minute stretch in the second period that seemed choreographed to perfection, because virtually every play was identical. It went like this: a motion set, a lazy back-pass, an interception, and a breakaway.

Sometimes they varied their routine, but it was equally monotonous: a telegraphed crosscourt pass, some active hands in the passing lane, a pickoff, and another breakaway.

So they worked extra hard to earn their 20th defeat Wednesday night by flinging the ball all over the gym, allowing Golden State to score 30 points off 22 turnovers, as the Warriors posted an easy 105-89 triumph at Izod Center.

“That’s their game: They’re one of the league leaders in steals, their game is pressuring and fast breaking,” coach Kiki Vandeweghe said. “And when you don’t have the energy you’d like to have — to back cut or keep moving to put the pressure back on them — it becomes very difficult, because the other team senses that. You play basketball long enough, you can sense when you have the edge in energy.”

Then again, maybe they were just incredibly inept.

Consider this: They only had two individuals with more assists than turnovers, and one of them was ball-handler-playmaker par excellence, Josh Boone (two assists, zero turnovers).

Coming off the reassuring victory at Chicago Tuesday, the Nets opened this one like they were going to make easy work of the Warriors, who were without four guys from their rotation (including center Andris Biedrins) and coach Don Nelson, who missed his seventh game with pneumonia.

So the Nets jumped all over the Warriors early, leading 26-15 after just 10 minutes, with Monta Ellis – the league’s seventh-leading scorer these days – playing just about as badly as he can play (0-for-6, three turnovers).

Then came a meltdown that essentially lasted 21 minutes – from the last two minutes of the first quarter, into the mid-third – as the Warriors rode a 59-28 wave with C.J. Watson running wild. Golden State had 38 points in the second quarter alone, when it forced seven Nets turnovers..

“Too many back passes,” said Devin Harris, who had an uneven night (19 points, four turnovers, two assists). “At times we’re dribbling too much, not enough movement, and when we’re penetrating we’re standing around, which allows you to be guarded easier. And they’re gambling, pretty much. They made a lot of good plays as far as reading the passing lanes.”

Brook Lopez was more blunt: “We were throwing it all over the floor,” said the Nets center, who had six turnovers to go along with his usual 21-and-10.

Still, after trailing 74-54 halfway through the third quarter, the Nets rallied. They climbed to within 88-83 after scoring on seven of their first eight possessions of the fourth quarter, and as they came out of a timeout with 5:09 left in the game, it was a 94-87 game.

But the Nets came up empty on five crucial possessions. The first was a 10-foot gimme by Lopez that rimmed out, and he picked up his fifth foul as he followed it up. There were also turnovers from Harris and Lopez. Golden State cashed in on three of those five stops, and it was capped by a Mikki Moore slam off Ellis’s drive-and-dish at the 2:22 mark that resulted in a 100-87 lead.